Virginia has its share of political and municipal quirks: one-term governors, off-year elections and an awkward city-county setup that pits neighbors against one another (see Augusta County Courthouse location) are three that can cause trouble. One we appreciate is that in Virginia, voters don’t register by political party.

Not everyone agrees with our assessment. Some partisans are sure the other side is voting in their primaries and affecting results. Local Republican leaders asked Del. Steve Landes, R-Weyers Cave, to change that with a bill that requires Virginians to register to vote by political party, and he complied. It comes before a subcommittee Wednesday.

Landes’ bill could be worse. It wisely says those already registered would get an independent — rather than Republican or Democratic — designation, unless they claimed another affiliation in writing. New voters would choose their designation at registration. The bill also allows independents to vote in either party’s primary, just not in the both primaries on the same day. Fair enough.

Landes believes primary turnout is so low that sometimes crossover voters make enough difference to change results. We doubt that and understand that locally, this is all about Sen. Emmett Hanger, a Mount Solon Republican appreciated by Democrats and independents for his willingness to compromise. Hanger’s work for Medicaid expansion has especially infuriated the far right, and he is facing a Republican primary challenge from Marshall Pattie, a member of the Augusta County Board of Supervisors, and Dan Moxley, a businessman who moved to this district specifically to run against Hanger.

Some Republicans so want Hanger out that they are challenging the state law that says incumbents can choose the nominating process. If Hanger runs for re-election this year, he will likely choose a primary. Some on the far right want a convention, because their chances are better served by having fewer people vote. This is voter suppression, plain and simple.

We are against voter suppression of any kind. Not only are conventions not fair because they’re so exclusionary, in Virginia they give us weak candidates (see GOP ticket in 2013 statewide elections). Thus, we prefer primaries to conventions. But primaries, so long as they are funded by localities, must be open to all voters. Session after session, the General Assembly tries to move the cost of primaries from localities to the political parties. It never works.

Landes’ bill isn’t voter suppression. It is simply making sure that registered Republicans and Democrats don’t vote in the other party’s primary. We find it unnecessary.

Sadly, we have another reason to favor open primaries. For our local General Assembly representation, the primaries function as general elections. Closing them to some voters would deny many a say in who represents them in Richmond.

Gerrymandering has given Virginia an incumbent-stacked, highly partisan state legislature. Hyper-partisanship damages this country, state and region. It produces gridlock and endless fighting over nonsense. Closing primaries would give the extremes — who already have disproportionate control over our legislatures — even more power. Politicians like Emmett Hanger who think for themselves would move closer to extinction.

We appreciate that elections are political events, but they must be open to all voters, especially the reasonable nonpartisan who just wants a government that works.

We also appreciate that primaries are expensive and laud General Assembly proposals for a pilot program to create “vote centers” on low-turnout primary days. If passed, the program would allow selected localities to forego opening every precinct on primary days in favor of fewer polling sites open to voters of multiple precincts. If the program works, the change could go statewide. What a relief that would be for small localities strapped for cash, and where poll workers sit idle through most primary election days.